Space Invaders
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Not too many years ago, I hit rock bottom in my addiction for cleanliness. I was wearing myself out trying to keep THEIR stuff out of MY space. You see, my space is meant to be clean, organized, color coated and labeled. And, MY space makes up most of the house (well, it should, anyway). Oh, I let my children have a rec room in the basement and toy boxes in their bedrooms, but that's it. THEIR stuff should be kept in corners and MY house should be kept clean.
And their stuff should be sorted, boxed and labeled.
For many years, I spent hours running around the house in a fit of exhaustion picking up toys, clothes, dirty socks and earrings. Bobby pins that have apparently popped off my daughters’ heads randomly throughout the house and Nurtigrain wrappers that are hidden under couch cushions. I would break out into a cold sweat during those ten minute tidies trying to keep my space immaculate. But it never stayed clean! It was like shoveling your driveway during a blizzard; the mess just kept on coming.
Then at some point in my parenting years I realized I had been running so fast, keeping up such a cleaning pace, that I had forgotten who I was. You see, I may have been born a neat-nick, but God made me a mom. I knew that a joyful mom and a relaxed home were more important than winning the clean house of the year award (and who needs another plaque to dust).
I needed to be reminded about what was most important. In fact, I still need to be reminded on a daily basis. In the blink of an eye, my beautiful children will be grown up, and heading off to college, marriage, and their own lives, and my house will be neat again. But it will also be empty since my space invaders will be gone.
The time I have with them here is limited. In fact, there are only so many times I will get morning hugs before breakfast. Only so many goodnight kisses and bedtime prayers in my life. So I’d better find a way to enjoy my children, clutter and all.
After all, my space would be very lonely without my space invaders. And since they come with stuff, I guess it’s a package deal.
I still prefer a clean house, but I have lowered my standards. Now there is laundry here and there at every stage. There are school books on the kitchen table and earrings on the counter. And if you are brave enough to dig, you might even find a Nutrigrain wrapper under a couch cushion or two. Twenty years from now, my kids will cherish the moments we spent popping popcorn and watching movies more than they will cherish having a perfectly clean house.
So I guess living with aliens isn’t so bad, especially when my space invaders come with morning hugs and goodnight kisses that melt the heart of any neat-nick that lurks within.
You can reach at www.trishberg.com.
Posted by Trish Berg 2:21 PM
Labels: Graphic Publications, The Bargain Hunter, Wooster Weekly News
